Gizzi Erskine has left Mare Street Market – and hasn’t been there for three months

Chef Gizzi Erskine has announced that she has left Hackney venue Mare Street Market, the foodie venture she helped to launch in March of this year.

In a statement posted to her Instagram account, Erskine clarified that she hasn’t been involved in the project for the last three months, saying: “It is with deepest regret and a heavy heart that I’ve had to pull out of Mare Street Market on the 26th August 2018.”

Erskine had been leading the food offerings at the site, but added: “Since 26th August all recipes I have developed for Mare Street Market are being done without my guidance so I am no longer responsible for how they turn out.”

Erskine, who had been due to open her first London restaurant at the site, also said that the situation had been “tricky to talk about”, but that “time has been a great healer and coincidentally Marc and I are actually getting on OK”.

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It is with deepest regret and a heavy heart that I’ve had to pull out of Mare Street Market on the 26th August 2018. (Since 26th August all recipes I have developed for Mare Street Market are being done without my guidance so I am no longer responsible for how they turn out). As with all these things it often gets complicated and I’m sure you will understand, that for various reasons, it’s been tricky for me to talk about it. I’m now very much immersed in my other projects with my latest book “Slow” being launched to acclaim and my sustainable burger bar “F!LTH” is set to open very soon. Time has been a great healer and coincidentally Marc and I are actually getting on OK. I’m grateful for the opportunity, I’ve learnt so much, in the months I was involved the food in all the spaces was celebrated and we opened the doors to THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of you and for that I am so unbelievably grateful. My team were so incredible from the off, and I have to thank them for working with me tirelessly on perfecting the food. We opened the space with over 220 recipes to learn and with me being a perfectionist, and you all went above and beyond in making me look fantastic. I cherish those times, and I am truly at peace with it all now. A little piece of me will always be in that place, because it’s a brilliant place and therefore there is inevitably a little sadness attached. I do wish Marc and everyone at MSM the very best for the future.

A post shared by Gizzi Erskine (@gizzierskine) on Nov 26, 2018 at 8:45am PST

The TV chef opened the venue in March with Barworks founder Marc Francis-Baum.

The project had originally been slated to have Chiltern Firehouse chef Nuno Mendes lead the food offering, before he left the project and was replaced by Erskine.

The multi-faceted 10,000 sq ft venue is home to an open kitchen and a Dining Room, as well as Flying Horse Coffee roastery, Pure White Lines interior store and Stranger Than Paradise record shop.

Hackney empire: Chef Gizzi Erskine and Mare Street Market founder Marc Francis-Baum (Matt Writtle)

Erskine also added that "My team were so incredible from the off, and I have to thank them for working with me tirelessly on perfecting the food."

"We opened the space with over 220 recipes to learn and with me being a perfectionist, and you all went above and beyond in making me look fantastic."

Representatives for Erskine told the Standard she had nothing further to say about the matter.

The chef is set to launch sustainable burger bar F!LTH early next year.

The Standard has contacted representatives for Mare Street Market for comment.